The Mainstream
by mokubahv
Summary: This story is no longer on hiatus! The classic tale of the lives of the maurauders; their meeting, their friendship and struggles. All seven years and beyond. Eventual RL/SB, JP/LE.
1. The Tale of a Wolf and a Sheep

**Chapter One  
****The Tale of a Wolf and a Sheep**

**xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx**

It was a warm July afternoon in Scarborough in the year of 1971. Atop one of the many rolling hills rested a quaint two-story cottage and the high afternoon sun was busily seeping through the attic's stained glass window. The streaks of colored light illuminated the dusty attic crammed with shelves that were piled high with books and parchment, the smell of ink and old paper filling the room.

A young boy of eleven sat at a desk, his disheveled brown hair quickly brushed back. The day had a lazy feel to it and the sun was so warm that he found himself drifting off to sleep as he read from a large tome. While he looked upon the book, as if bugged by some loose thread, he reached over to his arm and gently scratched against his tattered clothing delicately pressing against his skin.

His soft golden amber eyes moved back and forth slowly and then stopped as he reached the end of his page. With very delicate movement, he flipped the page and a cloud of dust billowed through the air. As he read on, his head slowly drooped and his eyelids began to feel heavier. Just as his head finally collapsed upon the old page, a loud scream echoed through the house causing him to jerk back up.

The boy quickly rushed down through the trapdoor, across the second floor hall, down the stairs, and through the living room until he found himself in the kitchen. There he found his mother and father staring open mouthed at a neatly unfolded letter.

"Er-is everything alright?" he asked nervously as he edged forward. He wondered what could possibly be so horrible in that letter that it caused his mother to scream like that.

She looked up at him, her cheeks streaked with tears. His mother then replied with little more than a whisper, "Remus-I-I-" When her voice failed her, she shakily handed him the letter.

After a moment of hesitation, Remus looked down and read it.

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

Dear Mr. Lupin,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

It took no less than six re-reads before Remus could process what he just read. And even then, it didn't seem quite real.

He looked up at his parents, unsure of what he just read. There's no way they could know about his condition; if they did, surely he would not be accepted. He had known since he was young that he could never get a real education. "What about-"

Before he could finish his question, his father handed him another part of the letter that was more personalized.

_**Dear Mr. R. J. Lupin,**_

_**You have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry out of the benevolence of our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He believes that no student should be denied an education no matter what the circumstances. We are aware of your situation and have prepared to make the appropriate accommodations for you. After the sorting ceremony on the first day, we ask that you speak to myself and Albus Dumbledore to go over the procedure. We look forward to seeing you on the first of September.**_

_**~Professor Minerva McGonagall  
**__**Deputy Headmistress**_

"I-I cannot believe this," Remus managed to say weakly. He was actually being handed the chance to go to school. No other headmaster wanted him because of his lycanthropy and he had just about given up all hope of studying magic. But now he could finally -

After a moment, Remus was able to remove his eyes from the letter and to look up at his parents. His mother was crying uncontrollably out of joy and his father beamed proudly at his son. He soon found himself trapped in an extremely tight hug.

This was officially the best news Remus John Lupin had ever received.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

November second was a breezy late autumn day. There was a party being held at the Black residence and everyone was in a rather cheery mood despite the absence of the 'guest of honor,' aka the 'birthday boy.' To be truthful, the guests preferred it that way and were really only there because they enjoyed spending time with said boy's parents.

The young boy just so happened to be upstairs, peacefully dreaming away. It wasn't going to last much longer though as, at that very moment, his younger brother tackled him.

"Argh! Bloody-" The boy sat up quickly, shoving his little brother off the bed. "What the-Regulus? What do you want?" His glossy black hair was still in sleep formation, all wavy and frizzy and cascading down to just above his elbows.

"Good morning! Mum sent me in to wake you. She says she wants you to get downstairs or I'm allowed to burn your presents." Regulus offered his older brother an evil smile.

"Oh, right." The boy scratched his head and yawned, wiping the sleep from his sharp silver eyes. "Well, go ahead and burn them. I'm going back to bed." He laid down again, but right at that moment, their mother, Walburga, came sauntering in.

She was a very poised woman with strong facial features and black eyes as sharp as a hawk. She had a large build without appearing overweight, and her two sons would soon be taller than her. She was currently adorned in a silky green and black robe with gray fur trimmings and had her hair in a sleek bun clasped with silver pins.

"Good morning, Sirius! How's my birthday boy?" She swooned over and kissed him wetly on the forehead causing him to wince and viciously rub the saliva off. "You're finally eleven now and you can go off to school and make us proud! You'll be a fantastic Slytherin, I just know it." She grabbed Sirius and forced him to sit back up. "In only a few years, you'll be able to take charge of this family and you'll be the master! I'm so happy! I'm so proud of you!"

Regulus rolled his eyes discreetly and shot a jealous glare at Sirius before he left the room.

"Come, come. Get dressed and join the guests downstairs. They're growing impatient!" Walburga kissed Sirius one more time on his forehead before heading towards the door. "And remember, Sirius. You're now eleven so it's time for you to mature-up and stop with your childish shenanigans. Try to look good in front of all your cousins, won't you?" She then turned back to the door and swept out, her dress robes billowing behind her.

"Childish shenanigans? Is that what she's calling it?"

Sirius shook his head and climbed out of bed, glancing towards his reflection in the mirror across the way. "Master of the Black family, huh? I'll be in charge of the 'Ancient and Moste Noble House of Black'." Sirius chuckled and shook his head. As far as he was concerned, he was the complete opposite of anything a Black should be.

"Well, in any case, I suppose it is rude to keep guests waiting."

**xxxoooxxx John xxxoooxxx**

Remus John Lupin was always a child with loving parents. While he may not have had a great childhood, he at least had a great family life.

When he was just a little boy, no older than two, his mother Serena and his father John purchased a beautiful two-story house in Nantes where they planned to raise Remus and try for another one or two kids.

Serena worked as a potions mistress which was a decent job but not quite enough to get them by. It was mainly John Wilson Lupin that supported the family with his ministry job. John worked with the ministry to regulate and control magical creatures. He was always off on one mission or another to make sure that creatures were being lawful and that wizards weren't collecting any illegal pets.

This was a very important job but it was also what ruined the Lupin's lives so irreparably.

On the seventh of December in 1959, John Lupin located one specific werewolf named Fenrir Greyback at a muggle tavern in Saumur. He was just passing through after a long day of clearing the nearby lake of grindyow and decided to stop by the tavern for a warm cup of cocoa. Before he reached the counter however, he noticed a deranged-looking man in a corner.

This man was drinking from a large mug with much vigor and, from the look of it, that was most definitely not his first mug tonight. His hair looked matted and his eyes wild - almost yellow and feral looking. John could see that his clothes were very battered and destroyed but, instead of looking homeless, this simply made the man look very dangerous.

John could recognize immediately that this man wasn't human. Most humanoids look at least semi-human but this one didn't even try to hide it. Everything about his wild, dangerous, strong, and psychotic appearance just screamed 'werewolf.'

John let out a sigh, all hopes of having a relaxing evening leaving his mind. He knew that, even though off duty, he would have to turn him in to the ministry. Especially since he looked so dangerously unhinged.

Brushing off some snow that had fallen on his jacket, John went up to the barmaid and ordered two pints of mead. He paid her, picked up the mugs and walked over to the man, sitting down across from him.

He offered the werewolf one of the mugs and took a swig from the other. The werewolf, in exchange, offered John a suspicious glare.

"What'd'you want," the werewolf growled.

"Cheers!" John rose his mug and offered a friendly smile. In all his nine years of working for the ministry, he had learned how to be a very smooth talker and an excellent people reader. "Just wanted to celebrate. My wife's pregnant."

The werewolf's eyes flickered with interest before he reverted back to scowling. "And how does this concern me?"

John shrugged lightly. "You just seemed the best one here to celebrate with. Don't really care for muggles."

The man grinned menacingly and John could just see his yellowed and pointed teeth peeking out from between his lips. The sight only went to confirm John's opinion of how disguisting and vile those monsters are.

"Yes, muggles are very uneventful. Weak." The werewolf looked around the pub briefly before picking up the mug John had given him. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it, clearly ensuring it wasn't poisoned.

"I didn't do anything to the drink," John offered.

"Can't be too careful."

"Why would I want to harm you? I'm out here to celebrate!" John grinned, trying to look as giddy as possible.

"Yes, a baby." The werewolf nodded before downing the mead in large gulps. "But why are you here to celebrate instead of somewhere higher class?" He gestured around at the shabby bar that was really meant for those that resided in the poor areas of town.

John froze momentarily. This monster was a bit sharper than John had originally suspected. "My brother lives in town. He's a squib. I wanted to tell him the news but he wasn't home so I'm waiting for him."

The werewolf's eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief. "Your brother is gone? Where is he?" Clearly he was trying to catch John in the middle of a lie.

"Dunno. He just isn't home."

There was silence from the werewolf. John could tell he wasn't loosening up as John hoped he would so he decided to try a different technique.

"I'm John Lupin, by the way." John introduced, sticking out his hand.

The werewolf looked at the hand as if offended and made no move to shake it. Instead he just replied roughly to the introduction. "Fenrir Greyback."

John withdrew his hand somewhat awkwardly. "Well it's nice to meet you Mr. Greyback."

"How far along is your wife?"

John looked at Greyback startled for reverting the topic back but let it pass. "Couple months."

"And you're just now celebrating?"

_'Damn, he's really clever.' _John quickly thought of a cover-up. "I was away. I'm a traveling herbologist and I just recently got back home."

Greyback appeared to accept the answer. "Where do you live?"

If John wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he saw something in Greyback's eyes. Like there was a deeper meaning behind those words.

"Well?" Greyback spoke rather irritably.

John hadn't realized that three minutes had passed. "Oh-sorry. Um."

Greyback grinned. "You know Lupin, I know that you want something."

John rose an eyebrow. "And what is that, Greyback?"

"You know what it is so why should I tell you?" Greyback leaned forward over the table and John could smell blood and raw meat on him; it was absolutely revolting. He spoke again but this time softer and with a subtle growl in the back of his throat. "But I want something from you and, unlike you, I'll get what I want."

John stared at Greyback bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

Greyback glared and John could see the wolf behind his eyes very clearly. He realized smooth talking was over. This werewolf was dangerous and needed to be captured. Now.

Under the table, John quickly pulled out his wand. Silver ropes burst out and wrapped themselves tightly around Greyback. Greyback howled in pain and fell off the chair and onto the floor.

The muggles all crowded around, curious as to what was happening. John stuck out his wand and shot out a flare to signal the ministry before knealing down next to the writhing, growling, howling, and biting werewolf.

"It would appear I'm the one to get what I want! Were you really stupid enough to think no one would know you're a monster?"

Behind the intense pain the silver was causing, John could see anger deep inside those feral eyes. "I'll g-get you b-back!"

"I'm sorry," John spat sourly. "I don't speak 'dumb dog'."

Several pops echoed throughout the pub and John turned to see several ministry officials surrounding him.

"I've caught a werewolf," John informed them. "Fenrir Greyback. Take care of the muggles." And with that, John and Fenrir apparated to the werewolf reservation.

Although Greyback was locked up, John could still remember what he had said. 'I'll get you back.' It wasn't too intimidating as Greyback himself was no longer a threat, but John couldn't forget it. The memory continued to haunt John every night it seemed; especially on the nights when the moon was full. He kept swearing he heard low, menacing growls behind him on those nights.

When Remus was born on the tenth of March in 1960, it was the happiest day of John and Serena's lives. The baby boy was beautiful and such a happy little kid. He had the most adorable smile, a perfect head of light brown hair and sparkling amber eyes just like his mother.

As the years passed, Remus grew up to be very talkative, imaginative and quite the little terror. He was always doing one thing or another to get on his parent's nerves. Whether it was filling the toilets with sardines or putting confetti on the fan blades, Remus always kept his parents on their toes.

They loved him more than anything in the world.

On the fourth of March in 1966, a tragic event occurred. John went to the reservation camp for him monthly check-up to ensure the werewolves were properly being handled by the staff to find that everything was not as it should be.

A group of medi-witches bustled out of the main doors with three dead staff members on stretchers. Concerned, John bolted inside to find security wizards lining the halls and casting dozens of locking and barricading spells.

He quickly went over to the main guard room and saw six on-lookers staring white faced at the grounds where they kept the werewolves. Curious and worried, John peered over to see what they were looking at.

All the resident werewolves were currently being restrained with silver dust and chains while a good number of cleaning wizards ran around picking up the area. He then paled when he realized just why the grounds were being cleaned.

The floor was scattered with what looked like torn human flesh and picked off bones. Blood and various slimy body parts were splashed throughout the room. But that wasn't the worst of it.

On the far wall, written in blood, were the words: 'Watch Out Lupin.'

John stared transfixed for what felt like an hour, long after the blood letters were cleaned off.

"Er-Mr. Lupin?" John looked over shakily at the worker that addressed him. He was a young, freckle faced blond boy that was most likely a new hire.

"Where's Greyback?" John asked shakily in barely more than a whisper.

"What, sir?"

"Where's Greyback?" John repeated, more firmly this time.

"Oh-" the worker flustered a little. "You see sir-"

"Where is he?" John grabbed the boy by his crisp white collar and forced him against the nearby wall.

The boy coughed and struggled to be let go, his face changing purple alarmingly fast.

"TELL ME!" John could feel his own heart rate quicken and his breath was hitched. Every pore of his body just wanted to scream in both terror and frustration.

One of the older female workers came and pulled John off. "Please, Mr. Lupin. Elton is just doing his job."

John rounded on the woman. "Well Elton is incompetent! Do you have an answer? It's not that hard! Where the BLOODY HELL is Greyback?"

The woman winced back as he yelled.

"He escaped," Elton answered so quietly that John scarcely heard him.

He froze. "What?" John looked over at Elton with shock, fury and fear. "What did you say?"

Elton backed up and looked at the floor. "He escaped, sir."

"How?"

"W-well, he got some of the other werewolves to help him jump at meal time. We managed to restrain the others before they escaped but he slipped out before we could stop him. In all we lost seven good men in the fight."

John glared threateningly at Elton. "How could you let this happen? Do you know how dangerous he is?"

Elton nodded. "Y-yeah. We can see that," he responded, gesturing towards where the human remains once were.

"Oh, you can see that? You can see that?" John rounded on Elton again. "How could you let something like this happen? You're supposed to be keeping control of the werewolves, not setting them free!"

"Please Mr. Lupin, calm down," the woman tried up again.

"Yes, Mr. Lupin. Calm down."

John turned to the new voice. It belonged to Nobby Leach, the Minister of Magic. However, John didn't quite care at the moment just how much authority the man possessed. The only thought in his head right now was that Fenrir Greyback's threat all those years ago was going to be fulfilled.

"Calm down?" John spat as if the idea was ludicrous. "Calm down? Fenrir Greyback is coming for me! How can I calm down?"

"No Mr. Lupin, we don't know for a fact that he's coming for you. He's deranged and could have just said the first name that popped into his head."

John glared at the minister. "He may be deranged but he still will come for me."

"Now, now, Mr. Lupin." The minister placed a hand on John's shoulder. "Come, come. Let's get you out of here. We don't need you ranting and raving."

"I have every right to be ranting and raving! Because of these people, Greyback got out!" John shoved the minister's hand off. "I want this fixed!"

"Mr. Lupin! That is enough!"

"No, I don't believe it is!"

The minister glowered. "Fine. You may rant and rave all you want. But from this moment on, Mr. Lupin, you no longer work for the ministry. I expect your desk cleared by one this afternoon."

John gapped. "What? You mean you're firing me because these workers can't keep one werewolf in? How is that my fault?"

"No, Lupin," the minister gave John a firm look. "I'm firing you because you are arguing instead of handling your work like the professional I thought you were. After fifteen years, I am thoroughly disappointed."

And with that, John was left feeling utterly drained. First, Greyback escaped. Second, Greyback remembered John Lupin. And third, John now lost his job at the ministry.

Three days later, John discovered that his fear wasn't over exaggerated. The worst thing happened. The most terrible way Greyback could have gotten back at John happened.

Remus John Lupin, the gem of John and Serena's eyes, was bitten and infected with lycanthropy.

As they sat in the living room, Serena tried desperately to clean out the large bite mark on her son's left shoulder.

"What are we going to do Serena?" John placed a damp cloth to Remus' sweaty forehead, watching his little mouth twitch open and closed as he lay unconscious.

"Well, we aren't turning him in, that's for sure," Serena answered sternly.

"But how can we raise a werewolf? It's not exactly an easy thing to do!"

Serena poured a small amount of potion onto Remus' shoulder. "We-we'll manage somehow. He's our son and we can't just abandon him. I won't condemn him to a lonely and miserable life, John."

John bit his lip. She was right. He had seen his fair share of werewolf reservation camps to know they weren't pleasant places. He shuddered at the thought of having his sweet little Remus in one of those horrific camps.

"We have to move," he stated bitterly.

Serena looked up from wrapping a bandage on Remus' arm. "I agree. It's not safe here. Greyback knows where we are and wherever we have Remus has to be somewhere secluded.

John nodded. "It'll be hard keeping him hidden but we'll make it." He nodded again fervently, trying to convince himself. "Yeah, we'll make it."

Serena gave a sad smile to her husband and continued tending to the little boy.

They did move. They even left France. The new house was much smaller than their last as money was now tight with the high costs of the potions they purchased for Remus' injuries. It was located on the outskirts of Scarborough with all signs of civilization a mile away to ensure no one would suspect the howling on those dreadful nights.

The backyard was next to a small forest and there was a worn-down shed in the backyard. John used spells to reinforce the shed and made the shed lead to an underground room where Remus could safely transform.

After the werewolf bite, Remus' joyful nature severely changed. He was suddenly very withdrawn and usually did nothing but stare off out of windows and watched birds fly.

It was very hard for the Lupins to raise a werewolf son but their determination made it work. John was able to get a job working as a maintenance wizard at the Leaky Cauldron and Serena made her schedule include more time at home so she could help Remus open up a little - constantly giving him the family support that he so desperately needed.

Serena had always been a kind-hearted woman and had a soft spot for everyone, no matter who or what they were. Despite their son's condition, she refused to look at him any different than she did before. Remus was still Serena's son and she wouldn't let a monthly transformation change that.

For John however, it wasn't as easy. He struggled day and night trying to think of Remus as the same child he was before the attack. No matter how hard he fought though, he couldn't help but feel that prejudice towards werewolves that had been so engrained in his mind. It was hard for him to accept the fact that Remus was a monster and for John, it felt more like he lost his son and adopted a wolf.

While Serena insisted he was the same boy as before, John did not agree. He noticed with much disdain that their son had developed animalistic attributes that werewolves tended to have. If he ever had a bad dream, John could hear him whine like a dog. If Remus ever got hurt by anything he would yelp and cower back into a corner. He would even growl sometimes if he got upset or even if there was a skunk crawling around in the front yard. It disgusted John more than he would like to admit.

Of course, he would never allow his son or wife find out how he really felt. He knew that it would break Serena's heart as well as destroy any progress they could make in their son's upbringing. Prejudice was not what their son needed. He needed support and love.

By the time Remus turned ten, John and Serena were happy to see that he had made some progress. They noticed him smiling at least once a week and he would now hold a complete conversation with them instead of simply speaking in single words or short sentences. They even would find sardines in the toilet or confetti on the fan blades from time to time.

It still pained them however when they would look in his eyes. For they could see that, even though he seemed alright on the outside, his eyes were empty. Remus had lost that brilliant sparkle he once had.

Serena prayed every night that one day their son would be able to honestly smile once again and John prayed every night that one day he could learn to love his monstrous son.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

Sirius stared at himself grouchily in the mirror. It may already be one in the afternoon, but he still didn't see the purpose of being awake at this unreasonable hour. He was most definitely a night person and had stayed awake until all hours last night coming up with a massive list of things he would need to do when he got to Hogwarts. The top priorities for this list, of course, included finding a way to sneak into Hogsmeade and locating all the female washrooms for future purposes.

Sirius tilted his head to the side, examining his reflection with an air of vanity. Sirius knew he was 'good looking' with his sharp and elegant features; silk-like hair, graceful eyebrows, keen eyes, aristocratic nose, and strong jaw. But, as far as Sirius was concerned, he wasn't 'great looking.'

He scowled. Despite the fact that Sirius was still just a boy, he cared very much about his appearance. He knew, however, that there wasn't much he could do about it yet. He would just have to wait until he got older and, hopefully, 'sexier.'

Sirius grumbled and trudged over to his armchair upon which his mother had placed the dress robes she wanted him to wear. It was a dark green velvet with silver embroidery and clasps. Clearly it was more of a celebration that he would be going to Hogwarts than that it was his birthday. The robes just screamed 'Slytherin' which was the house Sirius was destined for.

Sirius slipped into the robes which fit him perfectly and felt pleasurably soft on his snowy-white skin. He looked back into the mirror to examine himself once again and nodded in approval. Although the young heir was secretly disdainful towards the colors, Sirius did have to admit that the garmet was indeed beautiful and looked great on him. He ran his hands smoothly down his robes to ensure no creases were present. He did have to look perfect, after all.

Taking his brilliant silver eyes off of his robes, he looked up at his face, cringing in disgust. Compared to the intricate work that was put into his clothing, his face and hair looked like a complete train wreck.

Sirius went over to his vanity and sat himself gracefully in front of his bowl and towel. If there was one good thing that came from being raised so rigorously in proper etiquette, it was that Sirius Orion Black was naturally graceful and Sirius prided himself on that gracefulness. As far as he was concerned, no one would ever catch him plopping, slouching, flopping, or slumping.

He dipped his wash rag into the beautiful onyx bowl, long and slender fingers sprawling out into the clear lukewarm water. Sirius lifted the cloth and wrung it out until the dripping slowed. Then, leaning over the bowl, he pressed the cloth to his face, letting the steamy wetness ease him awake. Sirius offhandedly noted that today the cloth was enchanted to smell of hydrangeas.

He wiped his face liberally before setting down his cloth next to the bowl and drying off his face with a fresh one. Sirius looked at himself in the vanity mirror again. Ignoring the pink tinge from washing his face, he did look significantly better.

"And now for this spider's nest," he murmured, looking at his beautiful ebony hair. For him just waking up, it was surprisingly neat. In his opinion though, it was horrendous. Sirius Black was definitely vain through and through and he didn't bother trying to hide it.

Sirius opened the middle drawer of his vanity and pulled out an emerald encrusted silver brush. He brought it up to his hair and ran it through in long, gentle strokes until every last strand was perfectly straight. Nodding in content, Sirius clasped his hair back in a loose ponytail with a silver barrette. He then set down his brush, stood up, looked himself over once more, and then sauntered out his bedroom door.

"There he is!" Sirius immediately recognized the voice of his aunt Cari with much disdain. "Oh come here, Siri-dear and give your auntie a big kiss," she ogled, stretching out her arms for him from the bottom of the stairs.

Not at all anxious to be swept into her arms, Sirius continued to slowly glide down the steps until he was finally forced to give that crazy woman a hug. And yes, she did give him a big sloppy kiss.

"Now why don't you go over and say hi to Paulina, my pet? She's been just dying to see you, I'm sure. She's just there."

His aunt tried guiding Sirius over to the window where Paulina Crouch, her daughter, was standing. For some reason she always seemed to want to put the two of them in the same activities as much as possible. Sirius had a sickening hunch that she was trying to get the two of them together despite the fact that she was very much his cousin.

"Oh hi Sirius," Paulina smiled kindly when she noticed him. "You really slept in today, huh?"

He grunted in response. He wasn't really too excited about this party that his mom set up. They were always so boring and all people did was talk. Sirius believed that parties needed to be full of dancing, laughing, games, and food of all sorts.

Paulina clearly understood that Sirius was bored as she had reverted her attention back to the window. Sirius didn't mean to blow her off but he really didn't want to give his aunt the impression that he actually liked that girl. Well, he did like her. But he didn't like-like her. There was a big difference.

"There's my favorite nephew!"

Sirius spun around quickly to see his uncle Alphard rushing towards him. Suddenly he was being lifted in the air and twirled around before being placed back down dizzily.

"Hey, Uncle Alphard," Sirius grinned. He always did like him best out of all his family members.

"You excited about going to Hogwarts?"

Sirius nodded fervently. Of course he was excited. He'd have a whole ten months with no family interaction.

"So, you planning on going into Gryffindor?"

"What?" Sirius asked, caught off-guard.

"Haha. I'm just playing with you, kid." He smiled widely and patted Sirius on the shoulder. "I just know how much you like to see your mum get her knickers in a twist so I figured you'd try to pull something like that. That would definitely be a sure-fire way to get her to lose it."

Sirius laughed casually. "Yeah, that does sound like something I'd do."

"'Course you wouldn't go that far though; that would just be suicide. Who knows what that Wallie would do if one of her children didn't get into Slytherin. I doubt it would be a pretty sight." Uncle Alphard shook his head, chuckling. "Hey, so look what I got."

Sirius looked down to see Alphard pull out a handful of long, plump worms. "What're those?"

"These, my dear boy, are Whizzing Worms."

"Whizzing Worms?"

"Yup. You just pull one until it clicks and then let it go. I thought you'd need something to really get this party started, yeah?"

"But what does it do?"

"Well, why don't you find out?" Alphard put the worms in Sirius' hand and then casually strolled away. "Have fun," he added with a quick wink.

Sirius tucked all but one of the worms in his pocket. Curious, he held the remaining worm in his hand and pulled it until it clicked as his uncle told him. He then let go of the worm and all of a sudden a loud screeching sound came from it as the worm started zooming through the room at an alarmingly fast rate.

All the people that were gathered in the room shrieked and darted around, trying to avoid the flying and screeching worm. It honestly was very funny to watch a room full of highly refined people behave in such an undignified manner.

Enjoying their reaction, Sirius pulled out a couple more Whizzing Worms and set them free to join the party. The screams grew louder and Sirius couldn't help but let his head fall back, laughing soulfully, as he watched their eyes bulge out. Uncle Alphard really did have great taste in presents.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"

Sirius stopped his laughing immediately to look at his mother who was lovingly death-glaring him, her blue eyes fierce with anger. Before he had time to react, she was grabbing him roughly and tightly by his wrist and dragging him into the kitchen. Her grip was so tight, he felt his fingers go numb as his wrist began to throb painfully.

"What in Salazar's name were you thinking? I threw this party so my cousins could see how mature you've become. Not so you can make a fool out of me!"

Sirius stared at the ground, trying his hardest to avoid eye contact. He hated seeing how ugly his mothers face became when it was twisted with anger. That usually meant punishment was soon on its way.

"Wally, Wally. Settle down now." Sirius looked up to see Uncle Alphard casually strolling in. "The boy was just trying to have a little fun. You can't blame him for that."

She spun around and glared at her brother-in-law. "Oh, don't you go trying to protect my son. You're not the one that looks bad when he acts out."

"I'm just saying that he was probably bored. This party isn't really for kids, you know."

"It is if your kids are well behaved. You never see Narcissa or Bellatrix acting out like Sirius does! I'm trying to teach him how to grow and mature and I don't appreciate you trying to tell me how to do it."

"Look, I know you're upset now but it did give us all a good laugh, right? I mean, who else can say they were attacked by flying worms at a party?" Uncle Alphard tried to give the best grin he could muster under her cold gaze.

Sirius swore he could literally see the steam rising from his mother as her face reddened and her breathing quickened. She was definitely about to explode.

There were slender fingers that wrapped around Sirius' hand and he was suddenly tugged backwards and dragged out the door leading to the informal dining room. He turned around to see Paulina smiling at him. "I thought you might want to get out of there before it got bad."

Sirius smiled back sheepishly. "She's going to go looking for me as soon as she turns around, you know."

"Then I guess we'll just have to hide from her." Her violet-blue eyes darted around quickly and finally fell on a trap door in the corner of the room between the wall and china cabinet. "What about in there?"

He shook his head. "That won't work. Dad keeps it locked and I don't know where the key is."

She gave him a quick mischievous grin before pulling out her wand. "I learned a helpful spell just for the occasion." With a quick flick of her wrist, she pointed at the lock and said bravely, "Alohomora."

The silver lock that had been sealing the trap door popped open. She pulled open the door and climbed down the stairs. "Come on, Sirius."

Sirius' eyes lit up in excitement. That was definitely a spell he needed to learn and he made a mental note to remember it. He followed after her, closing the door behind them.

Paulina and Sirius found themselves in a relatively short hallway lit only by torches hung sparingly on the wall. To the right were four doors and Paulina slowly opened the first one. He followed her in and saw a dark wooden desk and chair straight ahead. To the left were a good amount of bookcases with rather large and intimidating books.

He glanced at a couple of the titles but didn't understand any of them: '_Nox Lux', 'Pyro Dauthus', 'Sanguin', 'Bloth Hydor Skaka'. _These books clearly weren't in English, French, Gaelic, or Romanian which were the only languages he knew.

To the right of the room was a large trunk. Paulina went over to it and tried lifting the lid but it wouldn't budge. Even her unlocking spell didn't do anything. "That's odd," she mumble.

She then turned around briskly. "Well, let's see what's in the other rooms, yeah?"

Sirius shrugged. He never liked exploring with a girl for some reason. He always felt like they just got in the way and were too quick with things. If he was down here with his brother he would most likely spend three hours on that chest before giving up. He wasn't going to complain though. After all, it was either being down here with that girl or having to listen to his mother rant and rave for Salazar knows how long.

"Sirius! Come on!"

He jumped out of his thoughts and quickly walked out the door, heading into the next one that Paulina was already through.

This room contained a multitude of high shelves with a massive amount of various trinkets and knick-knacks on said shelves. Sirius immediately recognized some of them from when he'd play spies with his little brother. His father was always bringing home various random objects that he said were 'special'.

As Sirius stepped through the entryway, he immediately got a weird and creepy feeling. Almost as if a cold chill was sweeping over his entire body. Sirius looked to his right where a large pewter statue of a skull stood and he would've sworn on his entire collection of World Cup Trading Cards that the cold chill he felt was coming from it. He looked back at Paulina who was still in front of him, caught up in looking at many of the objects on the shelf.

Sirius would've joined her in looking but he was much too frightened to go in the room, not that he would ever admit it. He didn't understand how a girl of such petite stature would have the courage to stand being in such an ill-boding room.

She had just picked up a small black ball with engravings on it and was holding it up to her face when Sirius saw it. Right behind her was what he assumed to be a silver statue of a horned lizard. At least, that's what he thought before it started moving and gazed at her, legs looking as if readying itself to pounce. He noticed its mouth open to reveal purple-tinted fangs and a small hiss could be heard.

"Paulina, look out!"

She quickly dropped the ball, spinning around to look at Sirius, and he immediately grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and out the door. He apparently pulled her too hard as the next thing he knew, her body weight hit him hard and he fell backwards.

Paulina rose up onto her hands realizing that she had Sirius pinned beneath her. "Why'd you do that?"

"That lizard thing was going to attack you," Sirius tried to explain.

"Lizard thing?" She rose an elegant eyebrow, baffled by Sirius' answer.

"Yes. Lizard thing," he repeated defiantly.

Paulina laughed lightly and shook her head, her curly strawberry blonde hair tickling Sirius' face.

There was the creak of a trap door and then footsteps, followed by Sirius' mother's voice. "Sirius? Are you down here? Oh!" She stopped in her tracks as she took in the sight of her eldest son lying on the floor with her cousin's daughter straddling him.

"Oh, I-" she stammered. "I didn't realize you were busy." Walburga cleared her throat awkwardly.

The kids looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Well, whenever you two are done, I need to speak with Sirius." With that, his mother quickly walked up the steps and closed the trap door behind her.

They caught eye-contact with each other and laughed.

"Well, at least we didn't get in trouble for being down here," Paulina said mirthfully.

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "What do you think she meant by 'busy' though?"

Paulina shrugged in response. "Grown-ups never make sense."

They stood up and brushed themselves off, Sirius fixing his hair, of course.

"Well, I suppose we should go," Sirius suggested. "It's wise to not keep mother waiting."

**xoxoxoxoxox**

_So, there is the first chapter!  
__Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it.  
__Please leave a review to let me know what you think.  
__Constructive criticism is always welcome. :)_


	2. How to Train a Progeny

**Chapter Two  
****How to Train a Progeny**

_Warning: This chapter has mentions of child abuse._

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

As he was growing up, Sirius always felt as though he just didn't fit in. He never tried to be 'different' or 'rebellious' as his parents always claimed he was; it just always seemed to turn out that way.

The Black family was very large and stretched back many generations. No one could ever give him a straight answer on just how old the family was, but they always seemed to imply that they were the oldest wizarding family in the world. So naturally, Sirius had a lot of uncles, a lot of aunts, a lot of cousins, and a lot of other relatives he didn't know what they were. Fourth cousins twice removed, aunts-in-laws, step-grandmothers thrice removed, great-uncle-brothers, and the like.

It seemed as though there were always family reunions and parties going on at either Grimmauld Place, where Sirius grew up, or at another relative's house. All the adults always seemed to be having a good time and would all somehow know each other. He couldn't understand how so many people could remember all those other people's names let alone their pet's names and where they went on vacation each year.

Sirius remembered just about no one's name and, if he was honest, he didn't really care to. He had no interest in finding anything out about a single one of his nagging, stuck-up relatives. They were all insane, self-absorbed and downright rude.

For a good while, Sirius believed he would never find a relative he liked. As he grew up though, he realized that there were three people in his family that weren't as bad as he originally suspected.

The first person in his family that Sirius liked was Uncle Alphard. He was his mother's brother and was very nice. He was the one that actually introduced Sirius to pranking. He never before knew how to have fun at home with all those lessons he had to attend and his uncle opened that wonderful door for him.

The second person in his family that Sirius liked was his cousin Andromeda. It surprised him to find out that she was really fun to be around and he soon learned to look forward to visits from her mother and sisters solely for the purpose of hanging out with her.

The final person in his family that Sirius liked was his brother Regulus. If it weren't for him, Sirius probably would've died from loneliness so he owed that small comfort to his younger brother.

**xxxoooxxx Walburga xxxoooxxx**

Sirius wasn't always a rebellious child and, as he grew up, Walburga noticed this side of him coming out more and more.

When he was younger, whenever he would have a bad dream she would see his big eyes peeking into her bedroom. She would smile at him gently and open her arms from where she lay on the bed. Sirius would then run over and snuggle with his mother until he felt better. Walburga would kiss his head and sing various lullabies about toe-tugging pixies to lull him to sleep.

This behavior abruptly stopped when Sirius had a bad dream one night when Orion was home. Walburga remembered clearly the last night she ever saw her eldest son looking utterly frightened by the boogey man.

"Mummy?"

Walburga looked up from her book to see her three year old boy looking at her with those silver eyes that were so much like his fathers, save for the fear that was so evident.

"Mummy, I saw him again."

"Who, honey?" She set down her book on proper house elf disciplinary techniques and patted a spot on the bed next to her.

Sirius came over and sat down. "Torin."

"Who's Torin?"

He gave her a look as though he didn't understand how she couldn't understand. "Torin, mom! The fire crab that lives under my bed!"

"Oh right, him." She smiled at her son.

"He was talking to me."

"What did he say, dear?"

"He said he was-"

"Sirius!" Walburga jumped at the sound of her husband's sharp voice as he entered the room. "Get to bed. Now!"

Sirius' lip trembled and Walburga saw a small tear fall down his cheek.

"Orion, it's alright. He just had a bad dream." She set her hand on Sirius' tiny shoulder.

Orion stared coldly at their son and she could have sworn she saw disgust in his hard slate eyes. "A bad dream?"

Sirius stared intently at the bed as if he was to afraid to look at his father.

"A bad dream? It's time you grow up, boy!"

"Orion," Walburga tried to soothe her husband.

"Stay out of this, woman!" He looked back at Sirius. "You get your pathetic arse back in bed and get that tear off of your face, you worthless brat!"

Without glancing once at either his mother or father, Sirius jumped up and bolted to his room as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"And if I ever hear you talking about bad dreams again, I'll give you something to really be afraid of!" The door was slammed shut and Orion sauntered back in.

"Orion, he's just a child. He doesn't know any better."

SMACK!

Walburga stared at her husband, stunned. She touched her stinging cheek that she was positive was turning bright red.

"Don't encourage his childish behavior," he growled.

That was the first time Orion ever struck her and, at that moment, she just knew it wouldn't be the last.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

One day in the spring of 1967, Sirius was atrociously bored. He was sitting on a couch in the living room trying to 'be on his best behavior' as he stared out the window. His mother was having a tea party that afternoon and so she had warned Sirius about acting up and had ordered him to stay put in the living room.

The fire place suddenly flashed with green flames and a tall man dressed in wild orange and green robes sauntered out. Even though Sirius was sure he had seen him before at a family reunion, he didn't recognize him.

The man smiled almost like a Jack-o-Lantern and his emerald eyes almost twinkled. He had long and curly peppered hair and a sharp goatee. "Hey there, sport," the main said in a very gruff voice as he ruffled Sirius' hair.

"Don't do that," Sirius protested with much indignation. He immediately reached up to fix his hair. Even at the age of seven (almost eight!) Sirius was showing signs of vanity.

The man laughed spiritfully, tossing his head back. "Oh, Sirius. One day your hair will be the only thing you care about."

"Nuh-uh!" Sirius stuck out his tongue in defiance.

The man settled down on the couch. "Remember who I am?"

"Uh-" Sirius hated how all his relatives expected him to know all their names. But he especially hated it when he had to admit he didn't know who they were.

"That's alright," he laughed. "I never remembered any of my relative's names either when I was your age. I'm Alphard, your uncle." He smiled broadly as he stretched back onto the couch.

Sirius beamed, suddenly feeling elated. This was the first time a grown-up had ever related to him.

"So, I actually came to see you," Uncle Alphard began. "I heard your mother is having a tea party and I thought you might be bored."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Mother says I have to stay in the living room and behave."

Uncle Alphard tisked in disapproval. "That's just like Wally. She always was against having fun."

Suddenly the grown man leaned forward. "Where is your mum now?"

Sirius shrugged. "Upstairs maybe?"

Uncle Alphard grinned. "Perfect. Come with me."

"But mother said-"

"Listen, Sirius." He stood up quickly and looked down at his nephew. "Sometimes you have to understand that what your mother says is really a 'suggestion' and not an actual 'order'."

Sirius didn't understand and tilted his head curiously, very much resembling a dog. "What do you mean?"

"Well, grown ups says a lot of things. They'll tell you not to do something but it's not because it's bad to do. It's because they don't want you to find out how much fun it is."

"Why would they do that?"

"Well, now that's the question, isn't it?" Uncle Alphard gave Sirius a mischievous grin. "Grown ups are mean, that's why."

Sirius rose an eyebrow.

"See, your mum said to stay here, right?"

"Yes."

"And you're bored out of your mind, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Exactly! The only good that comes from listening is that you're bored!"

"Oh," Sirius said, realization dawning in his mind. "So what are we doing then?" He stood up casually and followed his Uncle to the parlor.

"Your mother is having a tea party, yes?"

"Well, yeah."

"We're going to put a bit of excitement into her afternoon."

Sirius followed his uncle to the table that had been set up for the party and watched as Uncle Alphard pulled out his wand, the Jack-o-Lantern grin spreading across his face once again.

The table had been lined with a flowery tablecloth that looked very much out of place in Grimmauld Place. There were eight dainty tea cups on matching saucers all laying on frilly doilies. In the center of the table were trays of ladyfingers, scones and other delicate pastries Sirius didn't know the names of.

Sirius watched with anticipation as his uncle pointed his wand at each teacup in turn, reciting the incantation, "Morsus." A small pink ball of light flew out of his wand and hit the teacups, causing them to glow momentarily before appearing as normal.

Uncle Alphard pocketed his wand and beckoned Sirius to follow him out of the parlor. They sat down on the couch and Sirius eyed his uncle questioningly for a moment.

When it seemed as though the man was not going to say anything, Sirius decided to state his unspoken question. "Er-Uncle Alphard? What did you do to the teacups?"

The man beamed at his nephew, glad to see his interest. "I just made your mother's tea party more - interesting."

"Interesting how?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "You're just going to have to wait and see."

"Oh." Sirius tried not to look too disappointed as he turned his attention to the coffee table in front of him.

Just then, a loud chime resounded through Number 12 Grimmauld Place signaling that guests had arrived. The sound of Walburga's footsteps coming downstairs followed and shortly the house was filled with mindless chatter and gossip.

It wasn't very long before the first shriek was heard followed by several others. Sirius looked to his uncle in bewilderment and saw that the man was already on his feet and beckoning Sirius to follow.

As they entered the parlor, Sirius struggled immensely to contain his laughter. Around the feminate-decorated table were Walburga's dignified friends with dainty tea cups viciously nibbling on their perfectly aristocratic noses.

Druella was staring at her teacup completely baffled and looking cross-eyed. Lucretia was tugging at it's handle trying to pry it off while simultaneously wincing in pain. Cari, Lysandra and Celine had their wands out and were shooting various spells causing a rainbow of colors.

"Having a bit of difficulty, ladies?"

Walburga shot a dark look at her brother. "Alphard! You reverse this, now!"

He simply smiled his broad Jack-o-Lantern grin in response. "But where's the fun in that?"

The sight of his mother glowering with a wriggling teacup attached to her nose was too much and Sirius' laughter came out full-force, his head falling back.

Unfortunately, this simply caused Walburga to turn her attention on her eldest son. "Sirius! This is not a joking matter! Now get to your room!"

Still snickering, Sirius went to his room and plopped on his bed. That was definitely the most entertaining day he had ever had.

It was then that he realized that not all of his relatives were bothersome. He really liked his Uncle Alphard and hoped he would come and visit again soon.

**xxxoooxxx Walburga xxxoooxxx**

On cold winter days, Walburga would settle down by the sitting room furnace with a book in hand. She always felt these days were the best for a bit of light reading.

It was one of those days when she heard the front door open and three pairs of feet came in. Shortly after, Sirius trotted happily into the sitting room, his four year old face alight with energy.

"Mum! Mum!" The young boy plopped lightly on the loveseat beside her. Walburga pulled him into her and Sirius wrapped his tiny arms around her waist, snuggling in close.

"Did you have fun with your father and uncle?" Walburga inquired.

Sirius nodded vehemently. "Father and Uncle Ignatius took me to the Dark Creatures Exhi-Exhi-Place. We saw 'cromantuas and a chimra and a Peruvan vipertooth and erklings and centars and oh-camies and even a werewolf!" *

"Oh, really?"

Sirius frowned slightly and he scrunched his face in confusion. "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Father said it was a werewolf but-" Sirius licked is lips as if in thought. "But it looked like a human. And it was just sitting there. It didn't look mean or scary at all."

"That's the point," Orion stated matter-of-factly as he came in the room. "They live for deceit."

"De-ceet? What's de-ceet?" Sirius turned slightly to look at his father while still able to curl up with Walburga.

"They look human but they're not. They act kind but they secretly want to tear you apart. They tell nothing but lies and no matter how human they trick you into thinking they are, they never will be."

Sirius' eyes widened with interest.

"Believe me son, werewolves are monsters. Horrible, evil creatures much worse than any muggle or blood-traitor. You must never trust a werewolf. They are constantly waiting for you to let your guard down so they can sink their teeth into your throat and turn you into one of them."

The small boy gasped and clutched at the throat in question.

"Orion, really. He's four. That's enough." Walburga pulled her son in closer, trying to comfort him.

"No, he needs to know. They are evil, despicable creatures that need to be put down. They still let those monsters run free, can you believe it?"

"It is true," Ignatius said cooly as he sauntered into the room. "We're working on getting that law appealed. Registered or not, vicious, lying, disguisting half-breeds shouldn't be allowed- What in Salazar's name are you doing, boy?"

Sirius looked up as his uncle in confusion. "What?"

"Get up!"

Sirius crawled out of his mother's warm embrace and stood obediently in front of the loveseat.

"Come here."

He walked unsurely over to is uncle, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"How old are you, my boy?"

"Four."

"So, are you still a baby?"

"No!" Sirius wore a defiant expression.

"You're acting like a baby."

"No I'm not!"

"Only babies cuddle up with their mother. Big boys don't do that."

"Th-they don't?" Walburga could hear the confusion in Sirius' voice and she didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Ignatius, please," she started.

"So if you want to not be a baby you need to stop acting like one," Ignatius continued, cutting her off. "Big boys don't hug their mothers. Big boys don't get scared of monsters like werewolves and centaurs. Big boys don't cry and run to their mums for comfort."

Sirius bit his lip. "S-so I can't sit with mum?"

"No, you can't. And also, big boys don't stutter."

"But-"

"No, Sirius. If you don't want to be a baby you need to stop acting like one."

The four year old looked at his mother longingly for a moment before hanging his head resolutely.

"Do you understand?"

Sirius nodded meekly.

"Say 'yes, sir,' Sirius," Orion instructed.

"Yes, sir."

After that, Sirius never curled up with Walburga again and refused to return any proffered hug.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

Sirius was eight years old when he got his first one-on-one interaction with his cousin Andromeda. He never looked forward to visits from his cousins as Bellatrix was mean, Andromeda never talked and Narcissa was stuck-up.

During one of these visits, Sirius was sitting in the back garden watching the gnomes scamper from one bushel of monkshood to the next. He heard the sound of soft footfalls behind him and merely rolled his eyes waiting for the antagonizing to begin.

"Hey, Sirius."

Sirius turned his head to find the voice belonged to Andromeda. "What?"

She smiled wryly at him and sat down on the grass beside him. "I just wanted to see what you were doing. It can get really boring in there listening to mum and auntie talk about all the new scandals going on."

He turned his head back to stare at a particularly fascinating gnome attacking a milk thistle leaf.

"Hey," she nudged his arm. "What do you say to a game of exploding snap?"

"Exploding snap? What's that?"

"You've never heard of exploding snap? Are you serious?"

"I'm always Sirius," he replied cheekily.

Andromeda let out a tinkling laugh and shook her head. "Oh, it's positively delightful. I'll just have to teach you."

Shortly after, the two were engaged in games and laughter. Sirius discovered that, although she was quiet while around her sisters, Andromeda was truly an interesting person and he enjoyed spending time with her. She didn't seem like the rest of the family; she was nice.

**xxxoooxxx Walburga xxxoooxxx**

When Sirius and Regulus were growing up, they had many tutors in various subjects. They were taught how to read and count as every child was, but their lessons also included less 'normal' subjects.

In the morning on weekdays they were taught English, French, Gaelic, and Romanian simultaneously to ensure proper absorption. Afternoon lessons consisted of either calligraphy practice, ancestral history, ancient runes, or dark creatures studies. At night the boys were taught astronomy, observed duelling matches and studied deeper levels of magic such as hexes, curses and wandless magic. On the weekends, Sirius and Regulus would work on anything they needed extra lessons on until noon before being allowed to relax and play.

Their lessons were indeed intense but Orion had made it very clear that, as heirs to the Black family fortune, they needed to have the best education money could offer. It was during one of their Tuesday afternoon calligraphy lessons that Walburga once again saw a shimmer of her first-born's childlike innocence fade out.

Her father-in-law, Arcturus, was visiting as he did on occasion. Sirius was five years old at the time and Regulus, four. For their age, Walburga was proud of their writing skills but Arcturus seemed to disagree.

"You call that writing?" Arcturus turned a sour expression on his eldest grandson. "That is of muggle-standard. Rewrite it immediately and as a man of intelligence this time."

Sirius bit his lip and nodded. "M'kay."

SMACK!

Sirius yelped and quickly brought his left hand to the back of his head where he had been struck.

"Say 'yes, sir,' you ungrateful brat," Arcturus snarled.

"Y-y-yes, sir," he stammered.

SMACK!

"Again! And without sounding like an invalid!"

Walburga saw her son gulp tremulously. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

"Really, Arcturus. That isn't necessary." Walburga held out her hands in a reasoning gesture that merely caused the man to raise a cold, aristocratic eyebrow.

"Oh? It's not necessary? It's not necessary to train my heir to be proper? It's not necessary to teach him respect?" His voice began to rise with each utteration. "It's not necessary to have him turn out as more than just a worthless squib? It's not necessary to bring honor to our family? It's not-"

"Arcturus, please-"

"ORION!" Arcturus stormed over to the drawing room door and swung it open. "Orion Pollux Black! Come down here this instant!"

Walburga folded her hands in front of her and looked at her two boys who were both watching the scene. Regulus wore a look of vast curiosity while Sirius was a mixture of fear, shame and confusion.

She quickly swept over to her boys and laid a hand on the back of their heads, noticing horribly how Sirius flinched on contact. "Best get back to work boys."

"Orion, your woman seems to have a problem with me disciplining your children."

Walburga turned to the two men wearing what she hoped was a stern expression. "I wil not allow you to hit my son, Arc-"

"That's enough," Orion barked, effectively silencing her. "You will sit quietly and allow my father to train Sirius and Regulus as he sees fit. Is that understood?"

"I-"

"Silence!"

She shrank in on herself, bowing her head.

"And if you try disrupting again," Orion started, articulating carefully, "you will be punished as well. And believe you me, it will not be pleasant."

Walburga nodded and sat silently on the chair by the window.

Arcturus walked purposefully back to Sirius. "Now, boy, rewrite your lines but without flaw this time."

"Yes, sir."

There was silence for a long moment with nothing but the sound of scratching quills to break it.

"That's better. Now here. I want you to use this special quill. It's the best to use when practicing calligraphy."

Arcturus pulled a slender, pure black quill from his robes and handed it to Sirius. Sirius set down the quill he had been using and took the proffered one skeptically. He reached over to dip it in his well when Arcturus set his hand atop the boy's.

"No, no," he instructed. "You don't need any ink for this one."

Sirius furrowed his brow but obediently set the quill to parchment. He began writing his lines and a few moments later he let out a sharp hiss of pain. Sirius dropped the quill as if it caught fire and clutched his right hand to his chest.

"I did not give you permission to stop, boy." Arcturus plucked the quill from the floor and held it in front of Sirius. "Keep writing."

Sirius reluctantly took it from his grandfather's hand and resumed writing, hands shaking. Once again, the quill flew from Sirius' hand and he let out a shriek of pain.

"Silence! Write!"

Sirius looked back at Walburga, hurt clear in his eyes. It was then that she caught sight of why her son was in pain. Every time Sirius put quill to paper, the words were being sliced into the back of his hand. Walburga wanted badly to protest but one stern look from her father-in-law caused her to bite her tongue.

"I said write!"

Sirius picked up the quill and wrote two more lines before he let out a shaky whimper. He looked back at his mother, tears brimming his eyes. "Mum-"

Arcturus smacked the back of Sirius' head so hard he nearly caused his grandson to collide with the writing desk. "Silence, you ingrate."

Another five minutes passed with the sounds of shaky breathing coming from the five year old before it was broken by a choked sob. "Mum, please. Please. It hurts."

The plea was so desperate it tugged at Walburga's heartstrings. Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling scream that resounded through the manner. She looked to see that Arcturus had stabbed Sirius clear through the hand with the torturous quill he had been using.

"I told you to be silent!"

Sirius tried in vain to keep in his sobs of anguish. "Mum-"

"Silence!"

"Mum, please-"

Arcturus twisted the quill, causing Sirius to shriek as a fresh batch of tears began to poor.

"Mum-"

Walburga quickly stood and took a step towards her son but was stopped cold by a murderous stare.

Sirius choked out another soft whimper and looked back at his mother. Walburga resolutely closed her eyes and stepped out of the drawing room, latching the door behind her. She didn't need to see it to know the heartbroken expression that surely was on her eldest son's face.

"Now," she heard from the other side of the door, "back to writing."

There was another smack and yelp. "Begin! And for Salazar's sake, stop trembling boy!"

That was the last time Sirius called on his mother for help. That was the last time he showed any sign at all that he needed or even wanted his mother's care.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

Sirius would never ever, in a million years, admit to liking his kid brother Regulus. He did like him, just secretly. Whenever anyone was looking though, Sirius would complain about the younger boy and say what a burden he was.

As Sirius had no actual friends while growing up, he had to get used to playing with his brother. And, since he was the older one in that relationship, Sirius was the leader and Regulus would do whatever Sirius ordered him to. There were perks to having a henchman after all, so that was one reason to like the younger Black sibling.

Whenever they could escape the notice of their parents, the two of them would often go exploring. There wasn't much they could do as most of the rooms in the house were locked, but it was fun none-the-less to pretend to discover secret passageways.

The Black manor was very large. While it looked small on the outside, there were at least twenty-five rooms that the young boys had access to and then the countless others that were locked or simply beyond their notice.

With the help of Uncle Alphard and Andromeda (Sirius later found she was also a prankster), Sirius put Regulus to work terrorizing their parents with various pranking items or by capturing magical creatures and setting them loose in the house. Even though his younger brother was always assigned the dirty work to keep Sirius' hands clean, Sirius somehow always got the blame pinned on him.

But the fact of the matter is, Sirius really did enjoy spending time with Regulus. He would deny it to the ends of the earth, but he really, truly does love his little brother. **

**xxxoooxxx Walburga xxxoooxxx**

"Mother?" Sirius peered his head into the tapestry room where Walburga was currently observing the family tree.

She turned to her almost six year old son and smiled. "Come in, Sirius." He was growing up to be a very well-mannered son and she was glad to see it. Although she didn't originally like the disciplinary methods of Orion's family, they did seem to be paying off.

"A new family moved in down the street and I want to play with their son. May I, please?"

Walburga frowned in thought. She didn't know of anyone moving in. "Who are they?"

"Prewetts."

She pursed her lips. "No, Sirius. You may not."

"But why? They're wizards!"

"It's not that simple, Sirius."

"You said I can only play with wizards and he is! You said I can only play with purebloods and he is, too!" Sirius stomped his left foot in protest.

"But he's a blood-traitor. The Prewett's are blood-traitors."

"Mother, please!"

"No, Sirius."

Sirius scowled. "You never let me have any friends!"

"Sirius-"

"What wrong with playing with him? What's wrong with being a blood-traitor?"

"Sirius-"

"It's not fair! I want a friend, mother! Just one friend!" The five-year-old glared defiantly at his mother as if daring her to say no again.

"You have Regulus to play with, Sirius."

"He's my brother, not my friend. I want to play with Theo and you can't stop me!"

"To associate with a blood-traitor is to become one yourself and I will not allow it!" Walburga crossed her arms and stared down at her son, emanating disapproval.

"Then fine! I'll be a blood-traitor!"

"No you will not!"

"Watch me!"

It did not happen consciously but, at the same time, it felt almost natural as the back of her hand smacked across her son's face. There was a sickening crack and he collided with the wall forcefully.

Sirius stared at her in horrified awe before bringing one trembling hand to his cheek. Walburga could see two small gashes in his cheek beginning to drip blood that must have come from the rings encrusting her long fingers.

Her son opened and closed his mouth a few times but nothing except heavy breathing came between them. Sirius lowered his hand to his side resolutely and it was then that Walburga noticed the change take hold.

His eyes hardened and the glisten of youthful innocence was lost. He set his jaw and lifted his chin in defiance, horrifically resembling his father. Sirius then quickly turned on his heel and briskly strode to his room, slamming the door behind him hard enough to shake the foundations of the house.

She never again heard her eldest son tell her he loved her and, if she was honest with herself, she did not feel much loss for she, too, had stopped loving him.

**xoxoxoxoxoxox**

_* Please excuse the horrid spelling, I just didn't believe a four year old could really say all those words. The creatures mentioned were: Acromantulas, Chimera, Peruvian Vipertooth, Erklings, Centaurs, and Occamys._

** _I also want to beg your pardon for having a section that is horribly written and childish. I was trying to write a narrative from a child's perspective so I intentionally have it sound immature. Hopefully it wasn't too horrid._

_A/N: Well, THANK YOU for getting through that very long prologue. I know it was awkward to have it as the second chapter instead of the first but since there's that brief Remus prologue in the first I didn't want to really mix the two._

_In any case, thanks for sticking with me so far and I hope you'll continue to stay with me._

_Please review and let me know what you think. All constructive criticism or type-o notifications are welcome! ^.^_


	3. Leaving Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**Chapter Three  
****Leaving Platform Nine and Three Quarters**

**xxxoooxxx** **Remus xxxoooxxx**

As soon as the sun began to peak over the horizon, Remus' eyes flickered open and he slowly climbed out of bed. The moon was three days past but he still felt sore and had a good few gashes on his chest that hadn't healed all the way. It was pretty rough this time since his nerves had aggravated the wolf.

Remus crossed over to the window and drew back his curtains. He took a moment to take in the country side one more time before he would be gone until the Christmas break.

_'Today is the day. I'm finally heading off to Hogwarts.' _It felt as though there was a knot in his stomach and he was unbearably nervous. He had never been around so many people before and he wasn't even sure how he was supposed to behave in public. '_What if I do something wrong? What if I do something that makes them figure out what I am? What will they do if they find out?'_

There were so many questions and worries that just raced through his head. This was a very big step for Remus John Lupin and he wasn't so sure he was ready for it.

"Remus dear," his mother called as she peeked her head in the room. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

He looked at her and she could see that he was afraid. "Mother, I am not so sure I am ready for this."

She smiled and shook her head. "You are more than ready, my love." She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "I know that you will do just fine."

"What if I mess something up? I do not know how to act like a normal person!" Remus gazed at her imploringly. He knew she had to understand why he was so worried.

"I was worried too you know. I didn't know the first thing about magic when I got my acceptance letter." She sat on Remus' bed and laid her hands on her lap. "I was scared beyond belief. I thought I would make a fool out of myself and that no one would want anything to do with me. I didn't have any friends and I didn't know what to do. But you know something? I got through it anyway."

His mother held out her hands and Remus placed his on top. She closed her fingers around his small hands and stroked them gently with her thumbs. "I promise you, Remus. You will do just fine. You may not know what will be expected of you but I have no doubt in my mind that you will find at least one person you can talk to and that will understand you. If you ever need anything while you're in school you can ask a teacher or even send us a letter."

She stood up slowly and kissed Remus' forehead. "Come on down now, my love. I made breakfast."

Remus nodded before following his mother downstairs.

**xxoooxxx Peter xxxoooxxx**

A young portly boy was bustling around a small house frantically trying to find the rest of his belongings. He was running very late and his mother was nagging him non-stop to get his things together.

"Peter Piper Pettigrew," his mother shouted. "Come on already! Enid and Sarni are all packed, so why aren't you?"

Peter winced at his mother's shrill voice. "'M sorry, ma! 'M coming!"

He frantically looked around, trying to find his wand. He had almost all his things gathered but he did need his wand for school most of all. It was funny how things had a way of disappearing in such a small house. There were only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small living room, and a kitchen so there shouldn't be too many places for something to hide.

"Looking for something, Petey?" one of his younger sisters asked.

"Where is it, Torna?" he asked, trying to be sweet. If he rose his voice it would be one sure-fire way to get a licking.

Lorina giggled. "Somewhere," she replied teasingly.

Peter let out an exasperated noise. Having younger twin sisters was dreadful. They always nicked his things and would then proceed to do horrid things to them like cover them with pink feathers. He lost plenty of toys that way.

"Here it is, Pete," his even younger sister Gretel responded, holding it up victoriously. Peter shuddered as he saw the multi-colored rhinestones that covered his wand.

"Gretel!" Lorina and Torna whined simultaneously.

"Thanks, Gret." Peter pat her head before grabbing his sparkling wand and rushing out the door. "See you guys later!"

**xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx**

_'This is it. I'm off to a brand new life.'_

Remus closed his eyes momentarily. He was now standing in front of the brilliant scarlet train that would take him to Hogwarts. '_There's no turning back now.'_

He walked up to one of the doors and climbed up the black wired steps. Even though his luggage weighed at least sixty pounds it was no trouble at all for Remus to get it up the steps.

Remus found himself in a hallway with dark wooden walls covered in scarlet trimmings and countless doors on both sides. The floor was carpeted burgundy with silver etching its way throughout. There were candles hung on both sides of each door to light the way and, through blurry glass windows, he could see slightly into each compartment.

As he walked down he saw plenty of empty compartments which didn't surprise him much as he did get there relatively early but there were also a good amount of compartments that already had occupants. Some of them had only one person either pacing or reading while others had from two to four people gossiping, joking or sharing their summer stories.

He was so busy peeking into each compartment as he passed by that he didn't realize he had come to the end of the hall until he ran into the door that led to the next coach. He heard a girl giggle and, upon looking to his left, he saw a tall brunette girl a few years older than him smiling as she climbed up the steps. Remus flushed brightly and quickly ran into one of the compartments that he had just passed.

He quietly closed the door behind him and looked around. The compartment he entered was completely unoccupied which was a great relief to Remus. Straight ahead was a window with cherry wood trimmings. There was cream paisley wallpaper and two benches, one on each side of the compartment, with dark leather seat cushions and backing.

Remus took the seat immediately to the right and furthest from the window. He carefully tucked his luggage under the seat and then sat down gently.

It felt as if a colony of butterflies had found its nest inside Remus' stomach. He was so very nervous about heading off to Hogwarts. He had done a lot of studying on the school so he already knew about having to be sorted into one of four different houses.

There was Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

Gryffindor was where you were sent if you are very brave and loyal but was also known for having a lot of people that acted without thinking. Sometimes having a lot of courage can lead to rash decisions that aren't thought thorough properly. Hufflepuff was for the kind of heart and nurturing kind. A lot of people look down on this house and it is considered the 'weakest' of all the houses though a lot of the best healers came from Hufflepuff.

Ravenclaw was where the smartest and most thought-out students are sent. This house was for the people that love knowledge and are looked at as the nerdy house. Slytherin is for those that are right between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw; people are sent to this house if they are clever and are not easily frightened. This house also has a negative reputation but in all the books Remus read it was never quite explained why.

He had done a lot of thinking about which house he would be sent to and he decided that he definitely could not be in Ravenclaw. With how intelligent the students are in that house it wouldn't be very long at all until they figure out why he disappears once a month. Remus also knew that he couldn't be in Slytherin. Slytherin was a house where there were many wealthy pureblood families and they were known well for their hatred of half-breeds. If Remus got discovered in that house he would most likely end up tied up and tortured in a dark cave somewhere.

His best bet was either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. As long as Remus got into one of those houses and not the other two, hopefully everything would be alright.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

That morning Sirius wasted no time in getting to the station. While his mother was still fiddling with her silky violet robe, he grabbed a handful of floo powder, chucked it into the extravagant fireplace in their den, entered, and shouted, "Platform nine and three-quarters, Kings Cross Station, London!"

Vibrant green flames rose and licked his face as the walls began to spin around him. In a dizzy blur he found himself standing in front of a brilliant scarlet train with many students bustling around. Sirius took a deep, anticipating breath and stepped out of the fire pit, dusting the soot from his burgundy robes.

To his right he could see a group of two girls and a mother and father. One of the girls had red hair like her father and the other had her mother's mousy brown hair. The smaller red-head looked on the verge of tears while the taller brunette stood with her arms crossed and appeared to be trying to ignore her sister.

"Don't worry, dear. Your sister will come around," the mother said, trying to console her daughter.

"Tuney, please don't be like that," the red-head begged.

_'Typical muggles. Always jealous of the one that gets the acceptance letter.'_

Realizing that his mother would soon be arriving, Sirius decided he should make way to the train. Right as he started walking, a stubby blond boy darted in front of him. He was shortly followed by an older woman who shouted after him. "Peter Pettigrew! You get back here!"

Once his path was clear, Sirius made his way onto the train, awkwardly lugging his bag up the steps. As he walked down the hallway he glanced into the cabins to find one that was preferably lacking in people; especially anyone of relation to him. After walking about halfway down he found an empty cabin and sauntered in.

Sirius kicked his bag underneath one of the benches and settled down on the seat. It was still early in the morning and the train wouldn't be pulling out for at least another half hour. It wasn't long before he realized how stuffy it was in the cabin so he went over to the compartment window and opened it halfway. A light breeze picked up and kissed his face leaving him feeling refreshed.

As he was about to sit back down, his eye caught a family of three standing about halfway between the platform entrance and the train. There was a boy with wild hair and dark rimmed glasses getting his hair ruffled by an older red haired woman while a man with hair just as crazy as the boy's stood by laughing. Sirius recognized the family immediately as the Potters. It was a well known fact that all Potter men had untamable hair and glasses as well as a weakness for red-headed woman.

He took a deep breath and then reclined across the bench that his luggage was tucked underneath. Sirius would have ten whole months without having to see his parents once. That was a major relief to him. Especially not having to see his grandfather. Arcturus only came once in a while but his visits were never pleasant and, while Sirius would never admit it aloud, he was terrified to death of his grandfather.

Sirius rested his head against the wood wall behind him and closed his eyes, just focusing on nothing. The smallest of smiles appeared on his face as he went over all the things he would do once he arrived at Hogwarts.

**xxoooxxx James xxxoooxxx**

"Mum! Mum! I'm fine! I can handle it from here!"

It was September first and students from all over were bustling around on platform nine and three-quarters to catch the Hogwarts Express. One group in particular was a young boy of eleven, with wild black hair and glasses, being fondled over by his mother while his father stood by watching. The group all seemed thin and tall with athletic builds. The boy strongly resembled his father while his mother stood out with her flaming red hair and royal blue eyes.

"Come on mum, leggo of me!" The boy tried anxiously to pull free of her grasp. "Dad, help me!"

After a moment, the father gently grabbed the mother's shoulders and said, "Alright, Juliana. I think it's time we let him go off on his own."

"But-" she started to protest and then, "Oh, alright." His mother let go of him and kissed his cheek, her own streaked with tears of joy. "Be safe James. I'm so proud of you. Do be a good boy, won't you?"

James gave a wry smile to his parents. "Sure, I'll be good."

"And no pranks," his father added.

"Yeah, yeah."

His parents looked at him with disbelief but soon resigned and waved before disappearing through the portal.

James turned around to go to the train which would be leaving in twenty minutes when a small blond boy slammed into him. James stumbled back a bit and grabbed the boy's arms before he fell over.

"Are you alright?" James asked with little concern.

"Oh-I-er-" the boy stammered. He appeared to be a fairly plump, round faced, buttoned nosed boy around the same age as James.

"Peter!" A woman who looked just like the boy stormed over, her face the color of cooked beets. "Peter! You need to watch where you're going! Say you're sorry!"

The boy, Peter, glanced nervously to his mother and then back to James. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

The woman then turned to James. "Are you alright, dear? You'll have to excuse my son, he is such a klutz." She turned back to Peter and grabbed him by the wrist. "Come on, let's get you on the train before you run into someone else."

James absently watched them walk off and then looked up at the Hogwarts Express, a mischievous grin across his face. '_Hogwarts didn't know what it was getting itself into once I received my acceptance letter. Get ready for the one and only James Morpheus Potter!'_

**xxxoooxxx Lily xxxoooxxx**

Not feeling well in the least, the beautiful red-head was hoping to find a compartment all to herself. She had a rough time with her sister and she didn't want to be bothered. After walking through the hallway for a while she finally found a compartment that only had one other occupant.

She peeked her head in and saw a boy with long dark hair pulled in a plait lounging all the way across one of the seats. He didn't respond to her coming in so she figured he wouldn't be too bad to ride with. She sat down in the center of the chair across from him and stared at the floor, examining the intricate burgundy and silver designs.

All she needed was a nice, calm environment where she could ease her mind. She had to forget all those scornful words her sister, whom she loved so dearly, spoke to her.

The compartment door slid open and, before the young boy could enter, the red head inside spat coldly, "I don't want to talk to you, Severus." She didn't need to look up, she could feel who it was.

Despite her response, Severus entered anyway and shut the door gently behind him. "Why not?"

She looked up at him with watery eyes. "Tuney h-ates me. Because she saw that letter from Dumbledore." She took in a short, raggedy breath.

"So what?"

"She's my sister!" She looked at him defensively, shocked that he could respond in such a way. A single tear escaped one of her glistening green eyes and trickled down until finally falling off her chin.

Severus shook his head as if she was acting ridiculous. "She's only a-"

The compartment door slid open again and Severus looked back to see a wild-haired boy come in. He tossed his bag under a seat and plopped down by the window next to the girl. He had a huge smile on his face and Severus found it to be very ridiculous.

Severus turned back to the girl, seeing her wiping the tears from her eyes. "But we're going! This is it!" Severus gently touched her shoulder, "We're off to Hogwarts, Lily!"

Lily nodded and gave Severus the tiniest of smiles. She appreciated him trying to cheer her up. He was right after all; going to Hogwarts would be a fresh start and would be the opportunity of a lifetime for her.

Severus continued, half-threatening, "You'd better be in Slytherin."

The scrappy headed boy perked up and gave Severus a weird glance. "Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He nodded at the long haired boy who was lounging on the seat across from them.

Still reclining across the chair, the other boy looked over with a neutral expression. "My whole family has been in Slytherin."

Shocked, he leaned forward. "Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right."

The long haired boy grinned but it was hard to tell if it was out of humor or annoyance. "Maybe I'll break the tradition," he mumbled to himself, almost inaudibly. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

He perked up and puffed out his chest. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad-"

Severus made a small disparaging noise.

Suddenly filled with fury, the scrappy haired boy rose and rounded on Severus. "Got a problem with that?"

Severus smirked. He found it very humorous how this ridiculous boy thought he could be so intimidating. "No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy," he sneered.

Seeing the perfect opportunity to insult the slimy kid that was being rounded on, the long-haired boy interjected. "Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"

The tousle-haired boy roared with laughter and stumbled back, away from Severus.

Lily flushed and stood up angrily, glaring deeply at the two boys. "Come on Severus." She grabbed his arm forcefully, "Let's find another compartment."

"Ooooh," the boy with scrappy hair mimicked Lily's voice as they left the compartment.

"See ya, Snivellus!" the other called after right as the door was slammed shut. *

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

The scrappy haired boy sat back down and examined his compartment neighbor who had gone back into his silent state. "Nice to have that slime-ball gone, huh?" When he didn't get a response he frowned and decided to try a different approach. "I'm James by the way. Who are you?"

Sirius looked up at him and opened his mouth to respond but the answer came from outside the window instead of from his mouth.

"Sirius! There you are!"

Sirius scowled before glancing toward the window where his mother was standing. "Yes, mother?" He decided he should at least fake being polite until the train pulled out. He didn't want to risk her forcing him to stay home another year.

"I just felt I didn't get to really say goodbye properly," Walburga continued. "I won't see you for almost a year and you ran off before we even flooed in!"

Sirius glanced at James who was smirking facetiously.

"I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you, Siri!"

Sirius groaned. He hated being called 'Siri.' Especially in public. "Mother, please-"

"I'm really looking forward to your achievements and progression. I know that you will be the pride and joy of Slytherin; Salazar himself would be pleased to know that someone like you is in his house." She caught sight of James sitting across from Sirius. "Oh, I see you've already made a friend. And who might you be, young man?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. It was always so pathetic when his mother tried to act like a polite and nice woman. Walburga Black was the complete opposite of anything pleasant.

James smiled politely at her. "Hullo. I'm James P-"

"Pettigrew," Sirius spat quickly.

James looked at Sirius confused.

"His name is James Pettigrew. We just met." Sirius gave James an imploring look in hopes that he would stay silent before turning his attention back on his mother.

"Well it's nice to meet you young man." Walburga looked back at Sirius. "You know all you have to do is write if you need anything. And don't forget that your cousin Narcissa is there if you need her as well as that nice Lucius boy."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, real nice," he scoffed.

"Sirius!" Walburga scolded.

"Hey mum! I'm hungry. Are you done talking to Siri yet?"

Sirius looked over her shoulder to see Regulus walking over. He could always count on his younger brother to distract his mother.

"Oh, of course dear. I forgot all about taking you to Nockturn." Walburga looked back at Sirius. "You behave while you're at Hogwarts. And make sure to write me as soon as you get sorted. I want to hear how quickly the hat picks you. I hear Lucius got sorted within eight seconds but I know you can beat that!" It was always about competition in the Black and Malfoy family.

"Mum! Let's go," Regulus whined.

With that, Walburga turned and strolled away.

"Thanks, Regi," Sirius said with a small smile. "See ya."

Regulus nodded and then took off after his mother.

James coughed to get Sirius' attention. "Um, y'know, my name isn't Pettigrew."

Sirius laughed lightly. "I know. I'm sorry about that. It's just that getting caught in the same compartment as a Potter would be one sure-fire way to get me ripped off this train and drug back home."

He rose an eyebrow in confusion. "And why would you get ripped off exactly?"

"I am Sirius Black."

Potter chuckled humorously. When Sirius didn't react, Potter's expression changed to that of suspicion. "Wait, you're serious?"

Sirius nodded.

"You're the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

"Don't rub it in," he responded threateningly.

"Oh, I must say it is an honour to be in your presence, oh high and mighty sir Black." Potter faked a bow. "I am sure you will make your family moste pleased when the sorting hat calls Slytherin in only seven and a half seconds! Oh my, yes you will be chosen faster than Lucius even!"

Sirius glared coldly at James. "Stop it, Potter."

"Oh, as you wish great young master. I wouldn't want to offend you or your family may hex me."

Sirius had had enough. "Well at least my family doesn't disgrace itself by marrying muggles and adopting half-breeds."

Potter was taken aback. "Wait, what? I was just joshing you, Black."

"Oh is that what you thought you were doing? Because what I heard was you putting me in the same category as the rest of my sodding family."

Potter stayed silent, not quite knowing what to say.

"But I bet that's how you all think. Gryffindors truly are bone-heads through and through. I hear your father never thought before he spoke anyway so why would you?"

"Hey wait a second there. My father wasn't a bone-head!"

"That's exactly what a bone-head would say. I doubt you even noticed I put you in that insult as well, am I right?"

Potter was taken aback. He had no idea how much he had riled him up and he was beginning to think he should have stopped when Sirius first told him to. "Look man, let's just calm down."

Sirius laughed coldly. "Calm down? Really? Why should I calm down when you wouldn't listen to me in the first place?"

"Will you just stop? You really are behaving like any pureblood muggle-hating snob."

"I'd choose being an snob over someone that loves half breeds. Wasn't your mother engaged to a filthy centaur at one point? She looks like the type." Sirius smirked.

Before Sirius realized that Potter had reacted, a fist collided into Sirius' left eye and sent him falling backwards onto the floor. "Don't you dare," Potter snarled.

Sirius rose up quickly and shoved his knee hard into Potter's stomach in retaliation. While Potter was still catching his breath, Sirius' fist smacked Potter's jaw making a loud cracking sound.

Potter staggered backwards against the door trying to gather his surroundings again. He could feel a trickle of blood falling from his lip and he glared menacingly at Sirius. Right as he was about to charge again he felt a hand press against his chest and shove him backward.

Standing between them was a young girl with bouncing golden hair and bright blue eyes. "Stop it!" she shrieked. "Are you two trying to get kicked off? If you get caught fighting they'll send you straight home!"

Potter looked down at the ground. She was right and he really did want to go to Hogwarts. Sirius on the other hand was in no mood to deal with anyone, even if they did have his best interests at heart. "I don't take orders from someone like you, mudblood," Sirius spat.

The girl looked at him, wide-eyed and hurt.

Potter pushed her aside and decked Sirius once again, this time on his jaw. "How dare you speak to her like that!"

The girl drew a small, ragged breath. "Fine then. Get expelled for all I care." She turned around and stormed out of the cabin.

Potter glared at Sirius with a look so menacing, he never thought he could muster it up. "You really are exactly what your parents want. You're a Slytherin through-and-through. I hope you do them proud and sit happily on the throne made for slave-drivers and tyrants."

Sirius didn't look up and just stood there glaring at the seat he had earlier been lounging upon.

Potter sat back down on the seat opposite and watched the train as it began to pull out of the station.

**xoxoxoxoxoxox**

_* Most of this scene is adopted from the actual book. I'm trying to 'keep it real,' haha._

_A/N: Well, there's part one of the train scene! Part two will be coming soon. Please review! It brings me sparkles and butterflies._


	4. From Foe to Friend

**Chapter 4  
****From Foe to Friend**

**xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx**

Remus was sitting in an empty compartment with a bar of chocolate in his hands. He fiddled with its wrapper as he tried to decide whether he should eat it now or save it for later.

After a few minutes of internal battle, the compartment door slid open and a frazzled red haired girl and scrawny boy with shoulder length greasy hair came in.

"Hey," the girl started. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

Remus shook his head. "Go ahead. I do not mind." Remus offered the girl a small smile as they sat down on the seat across from him. "My name is Remus Lupin," he offered politely, remembering his manners.

The girl smiled at him kindly, her green eyes sparkling. "I'm Lily Evans." Lily nudged the boy next to her but, when he didn't respond, she continued, "And my friend here is Severus Snape."

"It is nice to meet you Miss Evans and Mister Snape." Remus gave them another shy smile and then tucked his chocolate into his bag. He felt it would be rude to eat in front of them when they didn't have something to snack on as well.

Remus looked back up at the others. Snape had gotten out a large textbook and had buried his nose into it. When he looked over at Evans he was startled to see her large emerald eyes staring straight at him. "Er," he said nervously.

"So, where are you from, Lupin?"

"Oh. Well, I-I am from Scarborough," Remus replied.

"Oooh, I've heard it's positively lovely there," she replied with a dreamy expression. "I bet you've had lots of fun wandering through the towns, right?"

"N-not really." Remus bit his lip nervously. He hadn't yet learned how to talk with anyone outside of his immediate family and he wasn't sure what was acceptable.

"Why not? I hear there's lots to do in the towns."

"I was always home," he replied quickly.

"Bummer! I would just about explode if I always had to stay home. Severus and I are from Ashbury. That's a really small town though and not nearly as lovely as where you're from," Lily giggled.

Remus smiled nervously. This girl was very talkative.

"We've known each other for a while actually. We met when we were only five. Severus is from a magical family but I had no idea magic even existed until I got my acceptance letter. I mean, I know I've had a few magical accidents here and there but I never quite understood what happened. You can bet I was surprised when I got my letter. Both my parents are muggles. What about you? Are you from a muggle family or were your parents magical?"

"M-my mother was muggle-born but my f-father is a pureblood."

Snape snorted from behind his book.

Remus quickly glanced at him, wondering if he said something wrong. "Sorry?"

Snape looked up at Remus, his dark eyes boring into his own. "I just find it humorous how many purebloods enjoy disgracing themselves by mixing with muggle-borns."

Remus' face flushed and he quickly looked down at his hands that were laid on his lap.

"Sev," Lily hissed. "That's rude. Lupin, he didn't mean it."

Remus felt a small hand touch his and he jumped. Quickly looking up he saw Evans withdrawing her hand and offering him a kind smile.

He wasn't so sure about Snape but he thought that perhaps Evans could make a nice friend. She seemed like a very sweet person.

**xxxoooxxx James xxxoooxxx**

After almost an hour, the Hogwarts Express finally got out of the city and had entered into farmland. James watched the seemingly endless fields of wheat and corn pass by. There had been silence in the cabin since the earlier argument and James was really beginning to feel antsy. He wasn't the type that kept quiet and still.

He had contemplated trying to find another compartment but he was really hoping that maybe Black would come around. James didn't know why but he just felt some sort of connection with Black earlier. It felt almost like he was destined to be his friend.

James looked over at Black who was still sitting across from him. He had his head down and seemed to be glaring at his hands that were elegantly folded in his lap.

Almost as soon as James looked at him, Black immediately rose and strode quickly out of the compartment. James then heard a quiet knock and a door slide open from across the hall.

"Hey, Blondie?" James recognized Black's voice.

"It's Gallagher," a female voice replied shortly.

"Gallagher." There was a small sigh as if it was hard for Black to muster up the strength to speak. "Look I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I-," there was a pause where James could hear Black let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry," it was very apparent that Sirius didn't have much practice saying those words.

After a moment of silence, there was the sound of a door closing and then Black soon reentered, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey," James said.

Black looked over at him, his eyes radiating defensiveness.

James offered him a smile. "Black, would you like to just start over?"

He briefly glared before relaxing and returning a smile, though Black's was significantly smaller than his own. "Sure. I'd like that."

James stuck out his hand in greeting. "I'm James Potter."

"Sirius Black," he responded, grasping James' hand and giving it a firm shake.

"It's nice to meet you," James replied.

**xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx**

It was now almost noon and Evans had long since stopped talking and was now thoroughly engaged in 'A History of Magic.' Snape still had his nose buried in 'Advanced Potion-Making' and seemed to be thoroughly contemplating and re-reading the text. Remus had retrieved his textbook of 'Hogwarts: A History' from his luggage and went through it again briefly to ensure he had learned as much as possible about the school he was about to arrive at.

There suddenly was a knock on the door which caused all of them to jump in surprise.

The door slid open and a friendly elderly woman peeked her head in and displayed a cart of many assorted sweets. "Would you like something sweet, dears?" she offered politely.

"Oh no thank you, ma'am," Evans responded. "Do either of you want something," she offered the boys in the room.

Remus shook his head, embarrassed. In all honesty he did want to try something off the cart but he didn't come from the wealthiest of families and therefore had no pocket money.

When Snape didn't respond, Evans turned back to the woman. "No, we won't be getting anything. Thank you, though."

The woman nodded and smiled kindly. "You kids have fun." She then closed the door behind her and they could hear her push the lightly squeaking cart further down the hall.

Remus closed 'Hogwarts: A History' quietly to not draw too much attention to himself. He felt that, after going over it five times already, he had a pretty good understanding of what was in the book.

He looked back up at Evans who had returned her attention to her book. Remus thought that she was a very beautiful girl and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. She had striking almond-shaped green eyes that seem to twinkle with what could only be identified as childlike innocence. Her face was dotted with the smallest of freckles and there was just a hint of soft pink blush on her cheeks. Evans had strikingly radiant red hair that just delicately landed on her shoulders and she was currently munching on a few strands which led Remus to realize just how enticing her pink champagne tinted lips were.

Suddenly Evans looked up and caught Remus' eye. She flushed when she realized that he was staring at her and he blushed in response, quickly looking out the window.

They were in what appeared to be a large forest. There were huge, dark brown trunks passing by at a quick rate. Every now and then Remus saw a low-hanging branch and the forest floor appeared fairly damp. As the window was cracked open, the smell of earth and fresh leaves was busily wafting through the compartment.

He closed his eyes and rested his head back, a content smile on his face. He knew that this would be a great adventure, even though he was scared to death of screwing it up.

**xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx**

"So you're going to get into Gryffindor with me, right? I know you'd love to rile up your mother, yeah?" Potter nudged Sirius' arm playfully.

Sirius laughed at the idea. "That sure would ruffle her feathers alright. I'm not sure I'm the Gryffindor type though. Maybe Hufflepuff is more up my alley?"

"Yeah, totally. When I look at you, I just think 'badger!'" Potter threw his head back in laughter.

Sirius smiled and shook his head. That Potter sure was one over-dramatic kid.

"Hey! So, do you like pranks?"

"Pranks?" Sirius rose an elegant eyebrow in suspicion.

"Yeah, you know, doing things to get on people's nerves. It's fun." A gigantic grin spread across his face.

"Oh! You mean like enchanting your mother's brush to comment on every new gray hair she gets or your brother's socks to run away in terror when he goes for a new pair?"

Potter nodded. "Hey, so I haveto show you what I just got. It's awesome." He reached under the bench, pulled out his bag and began to unzip it when there was a knock on the door.

The door slid open and the woman with the candy cart opened the door. "Would you boys like something sweet to munch on?" she asked with a smile.

Potter immediately pulled out a handful of galleons and sickles. "Yeah, I'd love some candy!" He went over to the cart to see what was there. "Mmm - I'll have two boxes of Bertie Bott's, twenty chocolate frogs, three fizzing wizzbees, a pack of fudge flies, two bars of treacle fudge, a pack of Drooble's, ten pepper imps, and a sugar quill. Oh, and I want two bottles of pumpkin juice, too." Potter smiled smugly as he waited for her to get his order.

He exchanged the sweets for money and then sat down on the bench, piling his food next to him.

"And what about you?" she asked, turning to Sirius.

Sirius rose swiftly and strode over to the cart. "Give me three cauldron cakes, some chocoballs, five fizzing wizzbees, a pack of that saltwater taffy, two ice mice, a licorice wand, four bloodpops and I'll also take a bottle of butterbeer. Oh, and can you throw in a handful of acid pops?"

The candy woman handed Sirius the goodies he asked for and he gave her a couple galleons in exchange.

Once she left, Sirius carefully laid down his treats and started working on one of his cauldron cakes.

"Acid pops? Are you seriously going to eat that?" Potter rose an eyebrow in suspicion.

Sirius shrugged and gave him a smug smile as he popped a piece of cake in his mouth. "You had something to show me?"

"Oh right!" Potter sat down on the floor and continued opening his luggage, popping a chunk of fudge in his mouth. "Look what I got," he said proudly, holding up a sack of off-white powder.

"What's that supposed to be?" Sirius asked unimpressed as he finished off his cake.

"This," Potter started overdramatically, "is Pomaphyranga Powder."

Sirius shook his head. "Never heard of it."

He grinned smugly. "C'mon, I'll show you what it does." Potter reached into his bag further and pulled out a pair of thin white coachman gloves, putting them on with ease. He then sprinkled some of the powder on both palms and rubbed his hands together. "Now let's go meet some new people," James said a little too excitedly.

Wondering what this crazy boy could possibly be up to (and questioning his sanity a little), Sirius followed him out of the compartment and down the hall. Potter opened one of the compartment doors and stepped inside casually but Sirius chose to remain in the hall and watch.

"Hey, guys," Potter said with a huge grin on his face. "You excited? I know I am!"

There were three boys around the same age as Potter and himself in the compartment. One of them had a plump face and curly bright orange hair. The other was skinny and short with black hair and loads of freckles and the last boy had dark blond hair and huge round glasses.

"Yeah, I am," the orange haired boy smiled.

The skinny boy smiled sheepishly. "I hear that some of the seventh years pick on first years-"

"Oh come on, Diggle," the blond boy cut in. "Let's just focus on how much fun it's going to be!"

"Exactly," Potter said enthusiastically. "I'm James Potter, by the way." Potter stuck out his hands and gave a firm grasp to Diggle's hand. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Dedalus Diggle," the small boy replied quietly.

"Gilbert Wimple," answered the orange haired kid, shaking James' hand vigorously.

Potter shook the blond boy's hand politely.

"Benjy Fenwick."

"It's nice to meet you all. I look forward to spending the next seven years with you guys." Potter winked slyly. He started to leave but then turned around and mock-gasped. "Eww! What's wrong with your guys' hands?"

The boys looked down at their hands, where Potter had touched them, with alarmed stares. Suddenly orange fur with purple spots started sprouting and climbing up their arms. They started shrieking and scratching their arms, trying to remove the fur frantically.

"What is this?," Diggle said in a panicked voice.

"I dunno," Potter replied. "Maybe you all got infected with Phillyweed Poison. I hear that stuff can do all sorts of weird things like cover you with fur, change your voice to sound like a girl and turn your feet into flippers."

"What?" Wimple began fidgeting around frantically, not sure what to do. "How can we stop this?"

"I hear it's irreversible," Potter replied nervously.

"Irreversible? No, please, you have to help us!" Fenwick started towards Potter.

"Stay away from me man!" Potter backed up quickly. "That stuff is contagious!"

"Wait, you can't leave us," Diggle sobbed.

Potter quickly turned back and headed down the hall with Sirius close behind him. He only took a few steps before he started bursting out laughing; they could still hear the boys' panicked voices behind them.

"That was awesome, man. Those kids were so scared." Potter could barely control his laughter.

Sirius couldn't help but let out a small laugh as well; it was pretty entertaining. "What was that stuff?"

"I told you already. It's Pomaphyranga Powder. It causes instant orange and purple hair growth that spreads to your entire body. It wears off after about two hours but it's very hard to reverse before that." Potter smiled widely.

"So, you have that stuff on your gloves then?"

"Yup," Potter smiled. "Wanna see?" He held his right hand out, threatening to touch Sirius' face.

"What? No!" Sirius darted back to their compartment, Potter hot on his trail.

"What's wrong, Black? You don't want to be pretty?"

"Keep that glove away from me!"

"Alright, what about the other glove? I have two y'know!"

Sirius quickly turned into their compartment and ran straight into the fat kid he'd seen earlier that morning.

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

Potter stopped just inside the door to see the two boys piled on the floor. "What the - Oh, hey Peter!"

The round, blond boy looked up confused. "You know my name?"

"Of course! You ran into me at the station entrance."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and you nearly knocked me over when you ran in front of me while your mother screamed after you, Pettigrew," Sirius added irately, shoving the boy off of him.

"Oh yeah, she does that," Pettigrew said, sitting up.

"Hey wait a minute, what's that in your hand?" Potter snatched a golden pentagon shaped box from Pettigrew's hand. After examining it, he glared at him. "Were you stealing my Chocolate Frogs?"

Pettigrew immediately turned bright red. "I-uh-uh-"

He quickly opened the nearly-empty box and pulled out the card, relieved. "Well, at least you didn't take my card." Potter sat down and examined it. "Awesome! I got Morgan le Fay! I've been missing this one." He grinned widely and tucked the card in his pocket.

"You collect those cards?" Sirius questioned, his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah - you got a problem with that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nah, just wondering." Sirius looked down at the boy that was still sitting on the floor and noticed he was currently eating Potter's fudge flies. "Did you ever think about asking before taking food from Potter?" he asked shortly. The little fat kid was really beginning to annoy Sirius.

Pettigrew stopped chewing and stared at Sirius with what looked like utter terror.

"Nah, it's okay, mate. I got plenty." Potter nudged the boy lightly with his foot. "Just make sure you give me any cards."

Just then the boys from earlier appeared at their door now completely covered in purple-spotted orange fur.

"Oh hey there, guys." Potter replied casually. "How's the hair?"

"My big brother told me what this is and I know you did it on purpose," Fenwick said angrily.

"What? Why would you think I did it on purpose?"

"Don't try to lie to us," Diggle piped in.

"Oh!" Potter tapped his head with his palm in feigned-realization. "You know what must've happened? I spilt some of that stuff all over earlier this morning. It must have gotten on my gloves somehow."

"Like we're really going to believe that," Wimple didn't sound very convinced. "Just admit it, it was you and you're going to be in trouble when we tell the teachers what you did to us!"

"Hey, you know what guys?" Sirius strolled over casually. "Let's look on the bright side. It is only temporary and will wear off soon so just enjoy the moment while you're in it. I mean, not every first year gets to say that they had orange fur with purple spots for a few hours, right?"

Fenwick shook his head in disbelief. "Oh yeah, we're so lucky," he responded, voice laced thickly with sarcasm.

"Okay, how about a truce?" Sirius held out three acid pops for them. "We got a bunch of candy and we wouldn't mind giving you guys some. There's plenty."

All of the boys' eyes widened. "Really? Thank you!" They boys merrily took the venomous lollipops from Sirius and then ran back to their compartment.

Sirius quickly closed the door and cast a locking charm. He then turned around with a broad grin on his face and winked at Potter who was staring at him knowingly. "Like I'm really stupid enough to eat those myself."

Potter laughed. "Good work, Black."

Pettigrew looked between the two boys, confused. "What do you mean 'good work?' What happened?"

Potter merely held up a finger and the three boys remained silent for a moment until-

"!"

Simultaneously Sirius and Potter threw their heads back and roared with laughter. Moments later there was loud banging on their door and angry screams from the other side which only caused them to laugh harder.

"So you guys like Exploding Snap?" Potter inquired while holding up his deck.

**xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx**

The sun was just starting to set off into the horizon and Remus knew that they would be arriving soon at the station. He was really hoping that they would be able to eat soon after they got there as he was beginning to feel rather peckish.

"Are you going to change, Lupin?" Evans asked as she began buttoning up her school robes.

"What?" Remus looked up confused about her question.

"We're arriving soon so we need to make sure we're in uniform."

"Oh, right. Of course."

He reached into his bag and pulled out his black school robes. His robes were purchased from a hand-me-down store so they were fairly frayed and faded. He slipped his arms through both sleeves and buttoned up the front of his robes carefully.

Soon the train began slowing down. Remus glanced out the window and noticed a good number of stone and wooden buildings and lamps lighting up countless streets. They were pulling into a town and, if Remus remembered correctly from his readings, this should be Hogsmeade station.

Remus felt his heart rate quicken. '_This is it. From this moment on, life will be different. I can finally have a chance to do something worthwhile with my life.'_

He looked over at Evans who was staring out the window grinning widely.

"You excited?" she asked.

All Remus could do was nod. There were so many thoughts racing through his head and he felt excited and scared at the same time. He went back to staring out the window with Evans, observing just how different buildings in wizarding towns were in comparison to muggle towns.

A whole new chapter was about to unfold for one Remus John Lupin.

**xxxoooxxx James xxxoooxxx**

James felt the train pulling to a stop and could hardly contain his excitement. He had been waiting his whole life for this moment - the moment when he would be able to go to school and learn all sorts of amazing spells.

James could remember his father telling him about the school and saying that James would need to pay extra attention in class. That was all nonsense though. James was sure he was brilliant enough already. Paying attention in class was for the people that were incompetent with magic; not for the people that were as awesome and all-knowing as he was.

He already knew what he wanted to be as well. James Morpheus Potter would grow up to be a great auror just like his father. He always thought those "secret missions" seemed so fun. It would be like he worked as a secret agent or a superhero in those muggle stories. How great of a career choice would that be?

Things were already off to a great start for James. He had already met two people: Black and Pettigrew. Sure Black was probably going to be sorted into Slytherin and Pettigrew seemed more like Hufflepuff material and James would obviously go into Gryffindor, but he was sure they could still be friends. Least of all secret friends.

He liked them. Black seemed really laid back and ready to risk detention for a little fun. Pettigrew seemed easy-going and willing to do things just because he wanted to please.

James looked around at the other two boys in the compartment. Black was standing by the door, flicking a strand of his elbow length hair out of his face. Pettigrew was still sitting and he appeared to be shoving whatever left-over candy there was into his mouth.

"We've stopped," Black stated before exiting.

James nodded and turned to leave, with Pettigrew close behind.

**xoxoxoxoxoxox**

_A.N. Well, I sure hope this was a fun train scene for you guys; I know I enjoyed writing it.  
Personally I've always thought the train was over-looked and typically uneventful so I wanted to kick it up for you guys.  
Please, please, please review!_


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